To those who doubt Thomas Sawyer, the 'Grownup'

A funny thing has happened in the  gathering of Akron mayoral candidates. In the closing days before the Monday deadline for the official ballot listing of their names,    only one  continues to tease everybody on whether he is serious about leading the city for the next four years.

Former mayor Tom Sawyer, who currently resides term-limited in the Ohio Senate, apparently figures he will gain more public attention by avoiding a direct answer until the final hours of the deadline. Might there be one more campaign contributor still undecided?   Might there still be one job or another in a new administration awaiting him?

Folks, it's a masterful form of coy political gamesmanship.  But as the 69-year-old Democrat  told the Beacon Journal:  "I have  devoted a lot of my life to this community.  Finding the best way to continue to do that  is what this weekend's decision is all about."

Well, now.  Who has already had more time and political experience to find the "best way" than Sawyer?   Would a few more days of brinksmanship matter that much?   Count me as one who is Doubting Thomas.

When he first emerged as a potential candidate weeks ago,  he said he had yet to decide whether he would actually run.  He said he wanted to  be in the conversation as the "grownup".   Such hubris!

 Sorry, but we've seen little evidence that this is what being a "grownup" is all about.

From mayoral to presidential discourse, a lot of HUHS?

The story lines in this season's political discourse have been stranger than normal for a bunch of would-be achievers at the local and national forums.  For starters, the seismic effect on the Akron mayor's race by Don Plusquellic's  volatile departure after 28 years has dug deeply into the viscera of not only his opponents but also his supporters.

Seismic?  Three Democratic  mayors  in a blink? Hardly time to change all of the official stationary at City Hall to bear the name of Jeff Fusco, Democratic county chairman until a moment ago who stepped aside for county Councilwoman Sandra Kurt.       At that he will only serve out his battleground commission until another mayor is elected in November, doubtless the survivor of the Democratic primary.

Among the odder  rollups to the mayoral filing deadline was veteran State Sen. Tom
Sawyer, once Akron  mayor himself 30 years ago.  He' told the Beacon Journal that his filing of petitions didn't mean, as he approaches 70,  he would actually run for the office.   (At that moment, a reporter should have done the routine follow-up by asking what the hell did that mean?  ) He now says he wants to be part of the "conversation" as the "grownup".

Shift the discussion  to Jeb Bush, who is trying to set a record for fund-raising by an unannounced presidential  candidate.  He was on TV the other day saying he's not campaigning for prez.  At what point, it's fair to ask, will he borrow a term from his brother by declaring "Mission Accomplished"?

But we did jot down for historical purpose the presidential  insight  added ay another candidate, Lindsey Graham.  Since he's a confirmed bachelor, he was asked about the rare moment in presidential history when there would be no First Lady.

Easy to fix, Graham breezily allowed, with his sister and a lot of friends posted on a rotating basis to serve as First Women.

I didn't make any of this up.




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Mike Williams, Point 41: 50 free tickets for his side

A FEW WEEKS AGO, Mike Williams, the candidate who wants to unseat Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary, proposed an astonishing 40 points that he believed would carry him to victory in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary. Somehow, it didn't include his demand for 50 free seats for the scheduled Aug. 8 debate with the mayor and a third candidate on the ballot, Janice Davis.

That 41st point arrived this week and the combined sponsors of the Akron Press Club and Bliss Institute delivered on his request. At $20 a head for a program series that raises money for college scholarships, that comes to a $1,000 gross gate, even if the freebies would not include lunch. (The seat could have been sold to paying guests.) The event is already sold out at nearly 300, so the hosts agreed to move the event from the traditional Martin Center ballroom to the more accommodating Student Union. The freebies will await their entry until lunch is served before arriving at a specially designated section of the room.

How nice. And with a huge crowd, it could be a seating and parking nightmare. But I'm sure that a room with a view was all that Williams had in mind. I was told that he first asked that everybody get a free ticket in a public spectacle. The Plusquellic forces were left with little leeway to respond to the 50-ticket request, the first of its kind in the many years that I once served as the program chairman.

The response is as puzzling as the Press Club's preferential treatment for then Republican congressional candidate, Tom Ganley, in his losing campaign against Rep.Betty Sutton. When he refused to debate her, he was offered a free pass to appear alone (She spoke at another time). Ganley's solo appearance also was a club first in a series that called for a debate. But in the latest retreat, there was no explanation as to why a minimum 50 free-seat package was included in the deal.

This shouldn't be a big problem for the mayor. He could settle the issue by asking for 50 free tickets for his side, too. Fair enough, Mike?

UPDATE: David Cohen, the University of Akron political science professor and Press Club board member who is handling arrangements for the mayoral debate, has contested my report that Mike Williams was solely offered 50 free reservations for the event. Cohen insists that the 50 freebies for folks who will not be eating lunch will be open on a first-come first serve basis to Williams, Mayor Plusquellic or any public spectator as long as the supply lasts. He did confirm, however, that Williams had first asked that all of the tickets be free for the debate at a venue big enough to accommodate the anticipated crowd. The event has now been moved from the Martin Center to the UA Student Union. The seating assignments dividing the payers and non-payers may still be complicated when the crowd presses forward.